Roadway recording apparatus



March 14, 1944. K. c. RAYDON ROADWAY RECORDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23, 1942 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor MM Em March 14, 1944. c, RAYDON 2,344,216

ROADWAY RECORDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23, 1942 2 sheets sheet 2 4 1 x :ugggguuum.

aluminum k\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Im'entor l? I B? Patented Mar. 14, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,344,216 ROADWAY RECORDING APPARATUS Kermit C. Raydon, Lathrop, Mo. Application January 23, 1942, Serial No. 428,003

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in devices for recording irregularities in the surface of a highway or the like and has for its primary object to provide a wheeled vehicle adapted to travel over the surface of a highway and including a floating wheel responsive to irregularities in the surface of the roadway and operatively connected to a recording mechanism to indicate on a chart the presence of such irregularities.

A further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efiicient and reliable in performance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevational View.

Figure 2 is a top plan View.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken substantially on a line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view through the mounting for the chart.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the recording needle, and

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view of a modified form of recording mechanism.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and with particular reference to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, the numeral 5 designates a substantially rectangular vehicle frame having a single wheel 6 swivelly mounted at one end and a pair of wheels I mounted at its opposite end, the wheels being adapted to convey the frame over the surface of a highway or other surface.

The body of the frame 8 is provided with an opening 9 in which a post I is slidably mounted, the post being formed on the upper end of a yoke I l on which a floating wheel i2 is journaled. The upper end of the post [0 is bifurcated, as shown at I3, and provided with a pair of vertically spaced pins l4 between which one end of a horizontal arm I is freely positioned, the arm I5 being connected at its other end to a vertical arm It by means of a tubular bearing l1 mounted on a. pin l8 carried by a pair of transverse members IS on the frame.

On the upper end of the vertical arm I6 is a tubular guide 20 having a pencil 2| secured in ad justable position therein by a set screw 22.

shaft 56 joumaled in a bracket 57 One end of the pencil 2| bears against a chart 23 which travels across a guide 24 supported between a pair of uprights 25 rising from the frame 5.

Between the uprights 25 adjacent the lower portion thereof is a feed roller 26 for the chart and rotatably supported between the uprights adjacent their upper ends is a winding roller 21 on which the chart is adapted to be wound.

Also mounted between the uprights 25 immediately above the guide 24 is a pair of guide rollers 28, one of which has a shaft 29 extending therefrom and journaled on a bracket 30 projecting outwardly from one of the uprights 25. On the outer end of the shaft 29 is a pulley 3| driven by a belt 32 from a pulley 33 secured on the axle 34 of the floating wheel l2. A belt tightener 35 is pivoted on the frame 5 and is provided with a coil spring 36 for maintaining the belt in a taut condition.

The shaft 29 is also provided with a pair of rollers 31-37 for driving belts 38-38 connecting pulleys 39-39 secured on the end of the roller 21.

In the operation of the device as the vehicle travels over the surface of a roadway, the spool 21 will be driven through the belts and pulleys connected to the floating wheel l2 for moving the chart 23 across the guide 24 and a record thus made thereon by the pencil 2| in accordance with the vertical movement of the wheel l2 as the latter encounters any irregularities occurring in the surface of the road.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings, the frame of the vehicle is designated at 40 having slots 4| in the lower portion thereof in which the shaft 42 of the floating wheel 43 is free to move vertically. The shaft supports a yoke 44 from which a rod 45 rises having the pencil 46 secured at its upper end in position for engaging the chart 41. l

The chart 41 is mounted on rollers 48 and 49 for movement tranversely of the frame, the roller 49 having a pulley 50 thereon driven from a pulley 5| by means of a belt 52 from a guide roller 53, the guide roller 53 having a bevel gear 54 at its lower end driven by a similar gear 55 on a stub supported by the frame. The shaft 56 also has a pulley 58 secured thereon driven by a belt 59 from a pulley 60 on one end of the axle 42. The belt 59 may be provided with a belt tightener (not shown) similar to the belt tightener illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings.

It is believed the details of construction, ad-

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vantages and manner of use of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing without further detailed explanation.

Having thus described the invention what I claim is:

A recording device of the class described comprising a wheel vehicle, a floating wheel carried by the vehicle and adapted to engage the ground for free movement in accordance with irregularities in the surface over which the vehicle is traveling, a chart carried by the vehicle, an L-shaped scriber pivoted intermediate its ends to the vehicle, one end of the scriber engaging the chart, an upstanding yoke connected to the floating wheel, the other end of the scriber being loosely connected to the upper end of the yoke for actuating the scriber in accordance with a raising and lowering movement of the wheel, and means for actuating the chart by said wheel.

KERMIT C. RAYDON. 

